87R6405 JRI-D
 
  By: Reynolds H.C.R. No. 16
 
 
 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
         WHEREAS, Requiring universal background checks for all
  firearm sales will help keep guns out of the hands of illegal buyers
  and traffickers, without causing an undue burden on law-abiding
  American citizens; and
         WHEREAS, Currently, federal law requires licensed firearm
  dealers to perform background checks on prospective purchasers, but
  it does not require the same of unlicensed sellers; since this
  exception applies broadly to all unlicensed dealers, it has created
  a dangerous and far-reaching loophole that dramatically increases
  the likelihood of gun murders and suicides; and
         WHEREAS, According to the U.S. Department of Justice,
  "individuals prohibited by law from possessing guns can easily
  obtain them from private sellers and do so without any federal
  records of the transactions"; and
         WHEREAS, Properly enforced background checks help to keep
  guns out of dangerous hands; since the adoption of the Brady Handgun
  Violence Prevention Act in 1994, more than three million people
  legally prohibited from possessing a gun--mainly convicted felons,
  domestic abusers, and the severely mentally ill--have been denied a
  firearm transfer or permit; and
         WHEREAS, Far from being a partisan issue, polling data shows
  that more than 90 percent of the American public supports
  background checks for all gun sales; that includes the vast
  majority of Republicans, Democrats, law enforcement groups, and NRA
  members alike; and
         WHEREAS, Background checks impose virtually no burden on
  law-abiding gun purchasers, as results are returned instantly and
  accurately in most circumstances; and
         WHEREAS, By enforcing a universal background check system on
  all gun sales, firearms will only be kept out of the hands of those
  legally prohibited from possessing them, and the United States will
  be a safer place for all Americans; now, therefore, be it
         RESOLVED, That the 87th Legislature of the State of Texas
  hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress to pass a
  federal law requiring universal background checks for all firearm
  sales; and, be it further
         RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
  copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
  the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of
  Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the
  members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that
  this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a
  memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.